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The mum – who ended up in a refuge during her seven-year relationship – wept as she told of her ex’s 25-year record of violence.

The dad had tried in vain for access in 2012. He admitted manslaughter in 2014 but was released halfway through an eight-year term for killing a man. He has also done time for ABH and GBH.

The girl began chatting to her dad online after his release and earlier this year went to stay with him after the row with her mum over homework.

The dad then applied for residency and a judge allowed the girl to live with him while a report is prepared on her future.

Social workers have said they don’t think he is a risk to his daughter despite receiving police intelligence that he is at high risk of re-offending. But the mum told us: “I can’t eat or sleep, I just want my baby back. She’s my world. My relationship with him caused my breakdown but that’s being used against me in court.

“Why can’t they see my mental health problems went hand in hand with being abused?”

Rights

Other mums tell how they had children placed in the care of violent men – even paedophiles. A legal blind spot means the offenders are not banned from being alone with their kids.

Current laws presume contact with both parents is in the best interests of a child. Human rights legislation also means parents are entitled to a family life.

In a second case, a paedophile dad was given a six-month suspended sentence three years ago for downloading images of 10-year-old girls, some involving rape.

His probation officer believes he is at risk of re-offending but social workers say he won’t target his own kids.

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A judge awarded him residency of the boys, aged five and six. Their mum said: “How can a judge let my kids live with a sex offender? I fear for my boys. I have nightmares.”

She lost custody following a suicide attempt after their dad’s arrest and now sees them just three times a month. Professionals noted she would physically shake in the presence of her ex.

The mum added: “The relationship was physically, emotionally and financially abusive and his arrest was the final straw. I felt sick knowing I’d had kids with someone who could do that. It’s why my mental health got worse.”

Social workers gave the boys to their gran, but three months later decided they should go to their dad. The gran said: “I was willing to take them in but I had to hand them over and it was absolutely terrible. If they are worried about my daughter’s mental health, wouldn’t the boys be better off with me than a convicted sex offender?”

The mum added: “Social services came to my house with him, which was a total slap in the face. The social worker said, ‘You’re not well enough to look after them so they’ll go to him’. I burst into tears. I said, ‘Why is this even possible? He’s got a conviction’. My ex was so smug.”

The woman went to the family courts but a judge found in favour of her ex after a social worker’s report. It read: “His conviction is concerning. However, he is not deemed a risk to his own children.”

The mum was accused of causing the boys “emotional harm” by opposing unsupervised contact with their dad. The accusation is repeatedly levelled at parents who raise the alarm about abusive exes. The dad is subject to a sexual offences prevention order until 2023. The orders are issued to people police fear will strike again.

The mum said: “I’m missing so much of them growing up. It’s awful. They cry so much when I have to hand them back.”

Terrified

Parents with extensive violent records are also being granted overnight access to their children.

One man with two convictions for assaulting partners is allowed to have his seriously ill child stay every week.

The court ordered he should pick his six-year-old daughter up from home – meaning he now has her terrified mum’s address. And the woman, who lives in fear and claims he raped her, has been told she could be jailed if she doesn’t hand her child over.

She said: “It’s a living nightmare. What mum wants to hand their child to a violent man? My daughter has so many complex needs but he can’t look after her. It’s all about getting to me.”

Another mum fought in the family courts for years in a bid to prevent her violent ex accessing their terrified children without supervision.

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A judge ruled he wasn’t allowed to see her two sons after a psychologist said he had “psychopathic” tendencies – but granted unsupervised access to their daughter, three.

The mum said: “He’s lost interest at the moment because it was always about getting to me, not my baby. But I worry every day he’ll try to see her. He tried to crash the car when I was pregnant. He’s capable of anything.”

Shadow Home Office minister Carolyn Harris will table an amendment to the domestic abuse bill in response to our nine-month probe.

The bill’s future was thrown into doubt following PM Boris Johnson ’s decision to suspend Parliament. But sources say the Government is keen to carry it over to the new session. We have studied reams of documents and our crusade is backed by key charities.

Refuge chief executive Sandra Horley said: “We support the Sunday Mirror in shining a light on this issue. Refuge would like to see an end to the presumption that parental contact is always positive for children.”

Lucy Hadley, campaigns and public affairs manager at Women’s Aid, said: “Children are not effectively protected by the family justice system.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “A child’s welfare is the primary concern of family courts when making decisions about their upbringing.

“This government will do everything in its power to protect the vulnerable in our justice system, which is why we have recently completed an expert-led review to see how the family courts can better support victims and children.”

If you have been affected by domestic abuse and need support, visit refuge.org.uk

Mylee Billingham, 8

Mylee is one of 63 children we revealed was killed by a parent. Her dad William, a violent criminal with a history of domestic abuse, was allowed unsupervised contact. He stabbed her to death on an access visit and is now serving life.

Mylee Billingham's dad is now serving life for stabbing her to death

Ellie Butler, 6

Ellie was killed by her dad Ben after he fought through the courts to regain custody of her after a conviction for shaking her as a baby was quashed. Butler, who had a lengthy criminal record, got life for his daughter's murder.

Ellie Butler's dad fought to regain custody of her - then he killed her (Image: PA)

Jack Anderson, 11

Jack Anderson, 11 Jack and his three-year-old brother Bryn were allowed to live with dad Graham in Tidworth, Wilts, months after he’d served time for violence and drugs offences. In September 2012, he killed both boys before taking his own life.

Jack and Bryn Anderson who were found dead at a property in Wiltshire alongside their father (Image: Facebook)

Alexa Marie Quinn, 4

Alexa was sent to live with her father Carl Wheatley by a family court, despite the fact she'd told social workers he was violent to her. The decision was made despite the fat Alexa's mum Victoria had previously been advised to leave Wheatley because of his violence.

Carl Wheatley, 30, killed Alexa-Marie just three months after she went to live with him. She was found with 66 injuries on her body (Image: SOUTH BEDS NEWS AGENCY 01582 572 07850 840246)

Yolanda Molemohi, 4

Yolanda and brother Theo, two, were murdered by dad Petros Williams in 2010, a week after their mum Morongoe was turned away from a Manchester women's refuge. Social workers didn't deem the case serious enough for a risk assessment conference.

Our demands

1. A change in the law, which means anyone who has been convicted of violent crime, child abuse or sexual offences can’t have automatic, unsupervised access to their children. The same rules would apply to those who’d had similar findings made against them in the civil courts. The ban could only be overturned by a judge if the parent had undergone a thorough assessment by an independent expert proving they have been rehabilitated.

2. Mandatory, standardised training in domestic abuse for judges, social workers and any other professionals involved in child access arrangements. We also want to see domestic abuse training for coroners overseeing domestic homicide inquests.

3 .More State funding to support the hundreds of thousands of children in the UK affected by domestic abuse – including the 3,627 kids currently being supported by Refuge. It is only with the right support, such as specialist therapy, that these children can recover from the trauma they have experienced.